“Veterans are proud of the job they’ve done, and they have a right to be proud,” Meagher says. “After this incredibly intense, life-changing and maturing experience, they plop back into our society, and we’re taking about Paris Hilton, Anna Nicole and Lindsay Lohan. That’s the biggest slap in the face to them.”

Meagher says Americans need to be more engaged in veterans’ concerns.

“Our lack of attention and seriousness really does affect the way they feel about their country when they come back,” she says. “It’s not enough to report the death count in Iraq—we need to discuss the experiences of returning veterans.”